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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22603114">You will address me as Lord Ferguson</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeputyCupcake/pseuds/DeputyCupcake'>DeputyCupcake</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Wentworth (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Game of Thrones Fusion, Childbirth, F/F, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Unplanned Pregnancy, and nothing in depth on the birthing side either, nothing too heavy in the implications of rape</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:40:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,804</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22603114</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeputyCupcake/pseuds/DeputyCupcake</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Standing ever vigilant as she looked over the city that was under her control, Joan Ferguson sighed as she shut her eyes and listened to the calm that was in the air. A few sounds could discernible in the city below her Hold but they were mere background noises. Nothing to cause any concern as a smirk played on her lips.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Vera Bennett/Joan Ferguson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Vassals of Lannisters, Bearer of secret pasts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A/N: So whilst I was being rather bored at work and after having seen the pictures of the SAG awards ceremony on social media that morning (20th January), I particularly noticed about the Game of Thrones cast and it struck this idea into my mind.</p><p>A/N 2: I do not own these characters (unfortunately otherwise certainly one or two characters would have come out of it far better) except for Jane who is my creation. Wentworth and some of the storylines also do not belong to me, never mind the world of Westeros and any references made about the world of A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Standing ever vigilant as she looked over the city that was under her control, Joan Ferguson sighed as she shut her eyes and listened to the calm that was in the air. A few sounds could discernible in the city below her Hold but they were mere background noises. Nothing to cause any concern as a smirk played on her lips. Her land had prospered under her reign since she took over from her Lord Father Ivan Ferguson. There were those who questioned a woman taking the place of a Lord, but then again, House Ferguson was continually questioned by the other Vassal Houses.<br/>
Originally, her great House hailed in the Northern Kingdom as a Vassal of House Stark. But a disagreement amongst them made the other Lords force her Lord Father and the rest of House Ferguson from the Northern lands and to head South. House Ferguson had always been known to produce strong warriors and cunning leaders, two things which House Lannister favoured and so Lord Tywin accepted Ivan and his House into his lands. After discovering that they were a Noble House driven from their home, Lord Tywin managed to use his influence to grant them a small Hold. Especially when Ivan proved his cunning on the battlefield and indeed off of it in Court.</p><p>Joan held only a few memories of Court when she was a child. Her Lady Mother died when Joan was six years old, and it was then that her Father had changed from a loving man to a man driven to have things perfect. Including his daughter. When she was commented on her posture and good manners, there was never any indication given to the belt scars that lined her back as punishment for her poor posture. Instead, young Joan simply curtsied and gave a courteous smile, learning the Game at a very young age indeed.<br/>
A useful thing considering she was her Lord Father’s only heir and, despite his many pushes, she married none of the suitors that he presented to her. None of them were <em>compatible</em> with her tastes or desires, no <strong>man</strong> could ever be compatible to her greater intellect and superior cunning. So it was always female companionship she preferred and, in turn, her Lord Father instead pushed her towards learning how to rule and fight.<br/>
Eventually anyway. Particularly after Jianna….<br/>
Her brows furrowed at that memory. <em>‘No, I can and will no longer think of Jianna with pain… I have my wife now. A wife who understands…’</em> she thought to herself as she took a steadying breath. <em>‘Never mind my dear daughter… No matter how it was she came to be…’</em></p><p>Long ago, back when she was barely a woman fully grown, her Lord Father had the notion of marrying her North in order to restore part of their influence up there and so that Lord Tywin had someone he trusted watching the Northern Lords. Many men simply gazed at her with uncertainty and others with suspicion what with her grand height, sharp facial features and her pale complexion paired with her dark hair and eyes.<br/>
That didn’t stop one Lordling from drunkenly accosting her and stripping her of her maidenhead. Therefore rendering her unable to marry as she outright refused to marry the boy who had shamed her so. In retaliation though, when she found out she was with child, her lord father refused her any Moon Tea so that there was a potential for a male heir. As it was, Joan gave birth to a girl and she vowed that she would not allow her father to treat her daughter the same as he treated her.<br/>
No one had ever figured out how Lord Ferguson had suddenly contracted a paralysing illness which bound him to his bed. This meaning that Joan stepped up to rule in her father’s place whilst 6-year-old Jane was given some free will. The girl though took to slowly learning her duties in order to aid her mother. Such a good daughter and heir, Jane was in her dutiful nature yet sly cunning. It helped her whenever they went to Court and she was presented to Queen Cersei…</p><p>A knock on her Solar door broke her thoughts as her eyes opened to reveal the dark brown orbs. One of her many particular traits that many feared because of how her eyes often more seemed an emotionless black rather than the brown that her beloved saw clearer than most. “Come.” She called and in should walk William Jackson, one of her guards. “MiLord, my apologies for the interruption, but one of the common folk is in the entrance hall demanding for Lady Ferguson.” He responded with a bow of his head and Joan hummed. Will sighing as he continued. “I asked Lady Jane if she would speak to her but the woman does not wish to budge. Demanding that her daughter be returned to her…” he continued on whilst trying to fight the slight questioning tone that he had at the end.<br/>
Something that Joan picked up on without any hesitation as she sighed. “That would be Rita Bennett, would it not?” she questioned crisply and she watched as Will straightened his posture. “Ye… Yes, MiLord. You assume correctly.” He replied honestly and Joan could only shake her head.</p><p>Rita Bennett. The Bennetts had at one time been a Minor House up in the Reach until a serious of misfortunes happened to the family, including having to leave and make their way to the Westerlands, moving down in rank to be among the Common and Small folk. All of that trailing down to Rita and her sweet Vera…..<br/>
A sharp tug of her doublet helped to straighten it as Lord Ferguson strode out of her solar. “Very well, I shall sort her out…” came her firm reply as she walked past Will and made her way down the steps to deal with the annoyingly persistent woman.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. There are always shadows to hide under the sun</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lord Ferguson observes her near-grown daughter and heir deal with a constant thorn in their sides before making her presence known.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A/N: I do not own these characters (unfortunately otherwise certainly one or two characters would have come out of it far better) except for Jane who is my creation. Wentworth and some of the storylines also do not belong to me, never mind the world of Westeros and any references made about the world of A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As the tall Lord approached the entrance hall, the condescending tones became quite clear to her ears. Along with the calmer tone of her daughter attempting to dissuade the woman from her ever frequent <em>visitations</em> to the keep. “My good woman, you asked for Lady Ferguson, she <strong>is </strong>present. Now state your business, or I shall have you removed from this Keep!” came her daughter’s words as Joan entered the area. Jane standing as tall and proud as she could, despite not having inherited her own impressive height, and proudly wearing the dark blue and black that was their family heraldry colours. Rita Bennett, however, sneered up at her daughter from her shorter vantage point, no doubt believing that would be enough to sway Jane. Joan though smirked as she saw her daughter’s face betray nothing except for her brow rising up in a questioning arch. That action only infuriating the Bennett woman. “You will bring my daughter here now so she can return with me!” came the pitiful snarl and Joan couldn’t help herself but let out a dark chuckle in response.</p><p>As she revealed herself from the shadows, Lord Ferguson smirked as the colour drained from the sickly woman’s face and the subtle upturn of her daughter’s rose painted lips as the Lord of the Keep approached. “Goodwoman Bennett, a <em>surprise</em> to see you at the keep given how your complexion seems rather unhealthy.” Came the smoothly spoken words, even if a subtle drip of venom laced the undertone as she towered over the woman. Rita though took a breath. “I want to see the brat of a daughter that I have so she can return home as a <em>good</em> child sho…” she spat out but Jane snarled at her. “Your <em>daughter</em> is a woman grown and has come to the safety of this Noble house after you <strong>threw</strong> her from your home after she was forced upon by a man. Now you continually demand that she be <em>returned home</em> when my Lady Mother has made it clear by the Seven that she does not wish to return to you.” Came the crisp words that flowed from daughter’s lips, Joan knowing that her daughter was doing ever to keep her temper in check by how straight her spine was underneath her gown. “Because she is <strong>already</strong> home.”</p><p>That stunned Rita Bennett to silence and so Joan stepped forward. “Your daughter cannot come downstairs as it is as she is very heavy with child.” She stated calmly and Rita turned to her. “In fact, quite possibly beginning in birthing the child… So, if you would kindly leave, I shall be returning to my Lady wife’s side.” Joan added coolly and Rita became rather flustered. “You made her keep that bastard child?! Seven curse you for your blaspheme on the idea of <em>marriage</em>! That child will be born of sin… As yours has!” She got out of her lips, her face turning red from such things and both women of the Ferguson line furrowed their brows dangerously before they both took a menacing step forward.</p><p>“How dare you blaspheme the Seven by invoking them when it is <strong>you</strong> who casted Vera out of house and home for an action that was not her fault...” came the dangerously quiet words that Jane uttered as she slowly circled the now slightly cowering woman. The blue eyes that often held warmth and compassion now were more akin to a storm brewing as Joan stood solid still. It always intrigued her how Jane circled her prey, obviously to make them worry about when and where she would strike. But it clearly was also to ensure that no one saw her expressions, or how her eyes could betray much.</p><p>Oh how she had taught her daughter well in so many regards and how Jane had managed to twist what skills she couldn’t master to achieve the same goal but with a different effect.</p><p>Joan, on the other hand, opted for the still and silent approach, make her enemies tremble what with not knowing what she was thinking or what she was going to do next. That was what Rita was doing right now, trying to figure out Joan’s thoughts whilst Jane continued her slow circles.<br/>
“Your family came to this Keep, and this House, <strong>begging</strong> to be allowed sanctuary in our lands after the loss of your own. And this is how you repay that kindness? By insulting this Great House and insulting my Lady Wife and Heir? Not wise…” she whispered in a dangerously quiet tone of her own. Both Ferguson women rarely raised their voice, knowing that a whisper was more deadly than a shout.<br/>
And this time was no different as Joan fought the smirk that wanted to paint her scarlet-slashed lips as she saw Rita shrink a little more. “Guards, kindly <em>escort </em>Goodwoman Bennett from this Keep and back to her home.” Jane instructed calmly towards the group of guards that surrounded the entrance hall, being immediately obeyed with a quiet chorus of “Yes Milady.” before they flanked the Bennett woman and managed to walk her away and out of their sight.</p><p>~~~~~~~</p><p>With Rita Bennett now gone from their entrance hall under guard, Joan let out a sigh as she massaged her temples. She felt her daughter step up to her and could practically sense the concern emanating from Jane’s compassionate form. “I am well, my daughter, merely a small ache of the mind from dealing with that woman… <strong>again</strong>.” She replied, albeit unable to help the slight growl at the end of her sentence. An understanding hand though placed itself on her arm and Joan lifted her head to gaze in the youthful face that echoed her own but it smiled more frequently than her own. Such a smile greeting her now as Jane sighed softly. “It is rather wearing, having her appear every few days or so… Surprising for a woman who, by the Maester’s admission, is dying.” She agreed as she looked towards the door where the woman had been <em>escorted</em> out.</p><p>Jane hummed softly at that admission. “Because she is now having to work and fend for herself without anyone else to blame for her misfortune.” She mused wisely and Joan nodded as they both moved slowly to the window balcony nearby. “Indeed, my wise daughter, she burrows her own grave rather well… So the final blow will not be necessary.” She calmly replied before sighing. “Though do be sure to pay her a visit tonight for me. As calmly and <em>silently</em> as possible to give her a sip of our aid.” She added cryptically as she gazed out over the people below the Keep, Jane slightly shifting her gaze to her mother at her words before understanding shone in her eyes and the young woman inclined her head. “Of course, Mother, I shall see it done. Along with your other duties as well as my Lady Mother’s…” she replied dutifully before gazing up at her Lord Mother. “You truly believe today is the day?” she asked curiously and Joan nodded sagely in comparison. “Indeed, her stomach has dropped and I felt the babe practically in the right position. No doubt some of the aches and pushes have already begun as your Lady Mother rests.” Was her reply and she heard Jane hum at her side. “Then mayhaps it be best you head on up to keep her calm, no doubt if she wakes before you are there, she will panic.”</p><p>Joan could only smirk at that. At times, her daughter showed just how young she was and then she would surprise her with her uncanny moments of a wisdom beyond her years. “A wise decision daughter, I leave the running of the keep to you then.” Joan proclaimed and Jane nodded stiffly. “Very well, Mother, do not let me keep you then.” She replied, causing a soft smile on Joan’s face so, as she turned, she lifted her hand and stroked Jane’s cheek with the backs of her two fingers. That action causing a smile on her daughter’s face before she leaned into her touch briefly. Joan allowing the moment before she walked out of the entrance hall to go to her wife’s side.</p><p>They were a slightly unusual couple: her Vera and herself. If anyone had ever questioned about her choice for a life partner, however, none ever voiced them or ever dared what with being as well regarded as her family was… As <em>their</em> family was. It was Vera after all who helped Joan be able to see to the problems of the Smallfolk without taking away too much of their level of independence or shifting the class balance too much. And indeed just helped her be a better person, to acknowledge herself and her insecurities better.<br/>
Joan could recall the day they met easily. She had decided to walk within the town in more simple garments, following Jane’s suggestion to do so in order to get a better understanding of their people (an idea Joan originally objected but then saw a glint of her daughter’s reasoning so relented). But as she walked down by the water where the Smallfolk frequented, she saw one young woman struggling with her rather large load so moved to help. Thankfully she had managed to take the overfilled basket from the woman’s hands just as she was slipping on a stone and Joan reacted quickly, holding the basket against her hip with one hand whilst quickly wrapping her arm around the far-too-slim waist and pulled the small woman to her chest before the poor creature completely fell into the water… How tiny she was against her as Vera shivered from the cold. And yet such a light thing as Joan set the basket down and picked her up in her arms. Taking her back to the keep to tend to how cold and hungry she was….</p><p>Her reverie was broken when she heard her Lady Wife’s sharp cry of fright from upstairs. That prompting Joan’s slight concern as the Lord of the keep lengthened her stride and broke into a run, her long and strong limbs managing to aid her powering up the stairs with a speed that could rival any youth.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N 2 : Final notes at the end of the story.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. I shall watch you as you sleep and remember</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Joan tends to her Lady Wife whilst her mind casts back to moments of their shared past. Just while waiting for when it is time.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A/N: I do not own these characters (unfortunately otherwise certainly one or two characters would have come out of it far better) except for Jane who is my creation. Wentworth and some of the storylines also do not belong to me, never mind the world of Westeros and any references made about the world of A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Coming into her and her lady wife’s bedchambers, Joan smiled as she saw Vera’s frightened gaze calm instantly the moment those blue doe-like eyes caught sight of her form. Joan striding to the bed with her usual aura of collected poise before sinking down on the mattress to caress her wife’s face. “Bad dream, my lady?” she asked softly as Vera leaned into her touch with a sigh. “I… I thought you had disappeared far away… I… I dreamed I had lost the baby and that you were so terribly angry, I...” she had started to stammer but Joan quietly shushed her with her fingers upon her wife’s lips. “Hush Vera. I had merely left to let you sleep to tend to my duties in my Solar but that got interrupted by needing to tend to some business in the entrance hall with Jane.” She calmly explained as her hand moved to caress Vera’s slightly messy hair, Joan’s lips curling up into a bigger smile as Vera continued to press her head into the loving touch that she previously craved for in her life. “I am sorry, forgive me…” her dear wife whispered and Joan’s gaze softened as she pressed her lips against her slightly sweaty head. “There is nothing to be forgiven for, my lady, you have done no wrong...” she reassured before she felt Vera take a slightly sharper breath than usual. “I will call a maid to bring you some food to break the morning fast, my love, you will need all the rest you can manage.” Joan calmly explained before widened blue eyes looked up at her. “Surely it cannot be today… The Maester…”<br/>“Babes come when they choose, not when the Maesters or parents do.” Joan interrupted all too knowingly before adding on in explanation. “Jane after all was practically two moons early.” She reminded and Vera nodded as Joan briefly left the bed to call a maid to do just that.</p>
<p>Sitting back down with her wife once that had been seen to, Joan noted the slight grimace of discomfort on her wife’s face so brought her hand down to her wife’s swollen belly and rubbed in gentle circles. “I shall be here with you all day, my love. You need not panic or be afraid.” She breathed out in reassurance as she bestowed a gentle kiss on her lady wife’s lips. “But, what about your duties? O… Our people?!” Vera asked and Joan could only smile brightly. Trust her ever compassionate wife to worry about the needs of their people above her own. “Jane will take care of everything….. I have already bestowed her the run of the keep for the day.” She gently reassured her so Lord Ferguson slipped off her doublet and laid it on the nearby chair so she was only in her undershirt and the band of fabric that bound her breasts enough to not be seen through the shirt. “My duty this day is to tend to you.” She breathed out as Joan shifted herself on the bed after removing her boots off her feet to lie next to her wife.</p>
<p>~~~~~~~</p>
<p>After managing to coax Vera to sleep once she had managed to get some food into her for energy, Joan sighed as she watched her petite wife sleep in her arms, Joan taking to stroking her hair to help distract her wife from the contractions which sometimes pulled her from being able to have a deep sleep. A sigh left the Lord’s lips as she recalled how frightened Vera had been when she had discovered she was with child. A moon or so after the attack that had happened to her after she had started to settle in her new home at Ferguson Keep.<br/><em>“Oh Gods, what am I going to do? I will be disgraced and shamed! No man will want to marry a woman bearing a child... As that guard won’t marry me, and I have no wish to marry him! Oh Joan, what am I to do?!”<br/></em><em>“Vera, you will not marry a man… As I would like to have that honour.”</em></p>
<p>She smirked as she remembered the night that followed that conversation.<br/>How timid Vera had been to be led, not to her own bedchambers that Joan had kindly lent to her, but to Lord Ferguson’s chambers. How those doe eyes grew in size as Joan slowly removed her layers to reveal the similarly shaped figure that hid beneath her Lordly garments. How she sighed when Joan bestowed her with a rare kiss, one that only grew in passion as a fire awakened in Vera’s belly. How her larger hands gently removed the silks on Vera’s lithe frame and pulled their bodies together. How long they spent that night exploring each other, only stopping as the sun started to rise in the sky. And that was when Joan officially asked for Vera’s hand. Which only prompted them to start their love-making all over again as if newly discovered.</p>
<p>Their wedding day had been only a small affair, what with Joan having to find a Septon willing to bless their union as unusual as it was. Jane was a witness as was the Septa who Vera had bonded with and a friend of Vera’s. But oh, Joan could remember just how beautiful Vera looked. Jane had managed to dress her in a midnight blue gown with silver stitched in, the colours truly helping to compliment her skin tone and bring out the colour of her eyes. How her skin had started to hold that subtle glow that only came to the skin of a woman bearing a child. Joan could barely even remember the ceremony, her attention having been completely on Vera. Her focus returning when the Septon asked her to drape her cloak on Vera’s shoulders. How small Vera looked with the heavy black velvet over her shoulders, but she carried the extra weight well. That cape still held a special place in Vera’s chest of clothes, along with the box that held the binding rope that joined their hands, and their lives, together…</p>
<p>Her memories were halted and she was pulled back to the present though as Vera groaned in her sleep and hissed with pain. Looking up, Joan noticed that some time had indeed passed them by so she gently felt Vera’s stomach. And, sure enough, her stomach tightened enough for Joan to know. “I’ll summon the Maester…” she smiled softly as Vera gazed up at her and Joan stroked her cheek. “Time to bring our baby into the world.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N 3: Final notes at the end of the story.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Sharing in these moments of bliss</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With her wife and new babe in her arms, Joan takes some time to relax in a few rare moments of pure bliss, knowing that all is being handled.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A/N: I do not own these characters (unfortunately otherwise certainly one or two characters would have come out of it far better) except for Jane who is my creation. Wentworth and some of the storylines also do not belong to me, never mind the world of Westeros and any references made about the world of A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took most of the day, and more than a few potential bruises on her hands from Vera’s desperate grasp to find safe harbour in the confusing storm that was childbirth. But it was worth it as Joan gazed at her now quiet wife, her head resting against Joan’s shoulder whilst their new daughter slumbered against Vera’s chest. There would be no Ferguson features on her, that much was unfortunately clear. But Joan knew that she could teach her the same things as she had with her Jane. How to be the perfect lady and yet be as deadly as a viper if such necessities called for it. For now though, Joan was content to watch the two women sleep in her arms with only the moonlight and the lit fireplace to give them light now that the sun had left the sky. Safe in the knowledge that Jane could handle any situation thrown her way that may disrupt the family, particularly now that night had encompassed the sky.</p>
<p>A rare tender smile crossed her lips as Joan looked upon their new daughter’s face. Grace was what Vera wished for her to be called, and Joan was slowly growing to the name. The girl certainly seemed to have many of Vera’s features as she stretched a finger to lightly caress Grace’s cheek, a very quiet chuckle leaving her as the babe moved her face closer to Joan’s touch and her little hand wriggled out of the blanket she was wrapped in to take Joan’s finger. Her pink little hand so tiny in comparison to Joan’s pale finger. So small... So innocent…</p>
<p>Vera’s groan made Lord Ferguson turn her head and gaze on her now rousing wife, Joan’s smile widening as those blue eyes opened and the fog of sleep slowly left her mind and lifted the cloud in her eyes. “J… Joan?” she rasped out, her voice a little sore and tender from her exertions of childbirth.<br/>
“I’m here, my love, and so is Grace…” Joan breathed out in reassurance as she kissed her head softly and Vera smiled with a soft sigh as she gently tilted her head up to kiss Joan’s lips before she turned her head a little look at the top of their baby’s head. “She looks so small in your arms, my love…” she mused softly as she slowly raised her hand to rest it over the small body of their slumbering babe. Vera then hummed as she lightly smoothed her fingers over the dark blue fabric. “What is this, my love?” she asked and Joan smiled at how adorable she sounded with her confusion and fatigue. “A blanket that Jane had been making ever since she found out she was going to have a little sister. The little project that she had refused to show either of us for moons and would hide in her sewing basket the moment either of us appeared in the same room as she was working.” She explained and Vera let out a soft chuckle as she felt the softness of the fabric. “Aaaawwwwhhhh, such a sweet big sister you have, Grace.” She cooed, bending her head down to kiss Grace’s head.</p>
<p>That made their babe squirm and Joan hummed softly as she looked at Vera. “I have a feeling she will be wanting you in a bit.” She mused with a smile so carefully adjusted them and laid Grace in Vera’s arms, all whilst shifting her body so that Vera laid back against her chest, Joan’s legs on either side of her and her arms wrapped around her wife. The very position she took to help Vera bring their babe into the world. And as Joan predicted, Grace nuzzled Vera’s chest so her wife adjusted her shift to let Grace suckle from her.<br/>
Content with her wife and baby’s focus on each other, Joan turned her gaze out of the window. She had no doubt in her mind that Jane was out there already, doing her will to silence Rita Bennett. All the hardships that the wretched woman had put on her dear Vera before the woman had come into her life. So it was only right that they should <em>aid</em> her in her end of days. And Joan knew how efficient Jane was in what she had to do and how best it could be done without suspicion. The training that Joan provided ensured success, as did Jane’s particular cunning and knowledge, including how the slightest difference of measurement of a certain concoction spelt the difference between dreamless sleep and eternal sleep.</p>
<p>A smirk curled at Joan’s lips as she pictured how Rita Bennett’s face might be when she realised what was really happening to her. But by then, Jane would have returned to the keep and would no doubt make her way here to see them and meet her new baby sister like the dutiful daughter she was. Jane will be her heir, whether she has a husband or not, Joan had ensured that this was made completely clear to her advisors and indeed to Lord Tywin. Her Liege Lord had been confused by such a matter but he accepted it well enough, given how Joan had managed to rule her people and was paying close attention to how Jane was managing when her mother was away from her duties for whatever reason.<br/>
Hearing two sets of soft breathing, Joan turned her head to see that both Vera and Grace had fallen asleep and her lips softened into a smile as she covered Vera’s breast with her shift for modesty. <em>‘None of that matters now… What matters to me lie here in my arms, along with Jane. I am more than content, and more than my father could have ever believed.’</em> She thought to herself as Lord Ferguson gently rested her head against her wife’s and shut her eyes to allow herself some rest.</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Yes, this is what it is to be blissful.’</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N 2: And there we go! I hope you have all have enjoyed this story that I wrote. After all, two weeks I spent trying to get this story done and the poor thing just got longer and longer! Please give kudos and comments if you like what you see.</p>
<p>A/N 3: Here is a link to the picture I created of more or less how I envisaged the characters using the Game of Throne character creator on DollDivine: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/354588170663771182/</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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